Although aggression research in general has been hampered by a lack of obje
ctive measurements of aggressive acts, two types of aggressive acts, impuls
ive vs, premeditated, have been studied extensively in recent years. These
two types of aggression have been primarily measured by structured or semi-
structured interviews. The current study was designed to assess the constru
ct validity of these two types of aggression using a self-report questionna
ire which included items gleaned from the content of interviews used in pas
t studies. For this study, 216 college students assessed their own aggressi
ve acts rather than answering general questions about aggression. The stude
nts were not significantly different from normative sample groups on self-r
eport measures of impulsiveness, aggression, and anger/hostility. A PCA fac
tor analysis with a promax rotation of the items on the self-report questio
nnaire identified four factors: impulsive aggression; mood on the day the a
ct occurred; premeditated aggression; and agitation. Thus, impulsive and pr
emeditated aggression are independent constructs which exist in varying deg
rees among these 'normal' persons in a non-clinical sample. Impulsive aggre
ssion was characterized in part by feelings of remorse following the acts a
nd by thought confusion. Premeditated aggression was related to social gain
and dominance. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.